Paranormal
by Moe Riverside
Summary: Freelance Agent Chris Larabee returns to Four Corners, Colorado upon the request of District Attorney Orrin Travis. Paranormal AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Ok, so I've been working on a new AU for the Magnificent Seven, Paranormal AU. It blends together a lot of ideas, and really is just a lot of fun to write. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Magnificent Seven, and some of the ideas have been vaguely taken from novels by Charlene Harris, Kim Harrison, Tate Halloway and old movies and TV shows that I do not own either. :-) Enjoy.**

Here is a general description of Paranormal AU just to get you started,:

Four Corners, Colorado; United States of America, a somewhat new booming town with a population of 65,000 and growing. Unknown to the majority of this population, the town is also a thriving place for the paranormal community. From Witches to Werewolves, the town's got them all. They generally prefer the nightlife, but you shouldn't be surprised if it turns out your next-door neighbor is a Nymph. Unfortunately not all of them are peaceful, and many of them don't like sharing their city with "regulars." The town has also seemed to be drawing a large number of new Paranormal unfriendlies in recent years. This has recently led to an outbreak in paranormal crimes, prompting Four Corners D.A. Orrin Travis, who inherited knowledge of the Paranormal along with his title, to organize a group to keep the unfriendlies in check, and keep the town and its population- Paranormal or Regular – safe.

Heading up the team is Orrin's sometimes freelance law enforcement agent Christopher Larabee, who's chip- on – the shoulder attitude and 'death' glare gives him the edge to get the job done. Larabee handpicks his men, ending up with a team of Seven.

--

Orrin Travis knew he was going to have his work cut out for him if he wanted to convince his sometimes-freelance agent to become a little more permanent. The man was tough and walked around the world with a chip on his shoulder; always searching for something- what, Travis did not know- and never staying in one place for too long. Travis hoped he could change that- the never staying in one place for too long thing, not the chip on the shoulder thing because that, he was sure, would take years of therapy.

He had been thinking of what to say to the man for hours, even going so far as to write it down. This had resulted in lots of ripped up little pieces of paper on his desk. He nearly jumped a foot in the air when the smooth voice interrupted his concentration.

"Got a speech tonight Orrin?"

He momentarily clasped a hand to his chest, before smiling broadly and standing, hand reaching out to grasp the offered one.

"You could say that," he agreed attempting to be hearty, "have a seat, Chris."

Chris Larabee moved amicably to sit down, "You got a new case for me?"

"In a way," he said, his smile faltering slightly at the serious look Larabee was giving him.

"Orrin," Chris said with a sigh, "what is it you want from me?"

"It goes like this Chris; Crime rates in Four Corners are up significantly in the past three years. Whether its due to the increase of Paranormal presence or just a regular spike in crime activity, its there," he began, and at Larabee's blank look, he elaborated, "I want you to stay on here permanently, work for me," he said, and held up a hand before the man could stop him short with a glare, "I want you to head up your own team, in a new unit that reports directly to me."

Larabee was silent, his features schooled, and an eyebrow raised. "You actually want me to answer that ADA Travis?"

Orrin rolled his eyes, "Don't take that tone with me Larabee, you may hold a good deal of power in the law enforcement world, but I hold a lot more. Take a couple days, think it over. There's a pay raise in it, as well as the ability to pick your own people."

Chris nodded, and stood up, reaching out to shake the hand again before walking out of the room. "No promises," he said as he made a quick exit.

Travis blew out a sigh, and sunk back down into his chair, "He'll be back…I hope."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Here is the second chapter, a little more in depth I'd say.**

**Disclaimer: Don't. Own. Magnificent Seven.**

--

Chris Larabee strode out of the grey office building, and took a deep breath. Staying in Four Corners? It was never going to happen, what was Travis thinking? He pushed his way through the straggling mid-day crowds, headed in the direction of a local bar called "The Saloon." He let his eyes roam over the city around him.

Four Corners was a growing town, he remembered it when it was smaller: population 10,000, and no Starbucks on every corner. Now it was a city, with a booming population of 65,000, and always a Starbucks in sight. The city had changed a lot since his younger days, crime was prominent, big city corporations were moving in everyday and it was also a growing haven for the Paranormal world.

Chris wasn't Paranormal, but his late wife had been, so he knew a little bit about it. It was an dark and dangerous world, with a lighter side that he had never seen until Sarah came along. He would never admit it to anyone but himself, but the prospect of working with Paranormal cases thrilled him. It was a new element he couldn't always explain, and it left him with a connection to her. He had always felt that he knew her a little bit better when he learned something new about the world she'd come from.

But he wouldn't stay in Four Corners.

He knew that's what Orrin Travis had been alluding to with his new "team" working for him, and the fact was, that Chris had almost jumped at the chance to re-enter the official world of law enforcement. Almost, being the key word. He wasn't terribly keen on the idea of being in a single place for too long, because settling down only reminded him of his past and what he'd probably never have again.

As he continued to walk, his eyes fell upon the side stairs to a worn down looking Brownstone building, where he noticed a man who looked like he was in some sort of trouble. Chris also noticed that none of the people passing by the building were stopping to help the man, they all just rushed by as if it they couldn't see it happening. His shoulders tensed and he looked around for just one person who was seeing what he saw, and was not too afraid to act.

Most people knew about the existence of the Paranormal world, but due to unfortunate misunderstandings, they were usually prejudiced or scared of anyone Paranormal.

That's when he saw him. The man directly across the street from him was looking at him pointedly, eyebrow raised, head tilted toward the brownstone; a question. Chris took in the appearance of the fellow and surmised that he must be some sort of law enforcement agent, if he was to judge by the way the guy was dressed. He wore a pair of dark jeans with a gun just visible beneath the buckskin jacket he was wearing. He met the odd hazel eyes and shrugged, nodding his agreement.

He crossed the street quickly and together they walked in silence around the corner of the brownstone, where the man had been dragged so there would be fewer witnesses to the crime.

"I'd stop that if I were you," the soft voice of his yet nameless companion rang out.

One of the four, a tall man with a bandanna over his forehead and a shock of curly red hair, turned to look at them.

"This isn't any of your business, pal," the thick accent of the young gang member served only to make it harder to understand him, rather than the intended intimidation.

"Oh, I think it is," Chris said with a wide, yet very scary, smile.

"And if we don't stop?" another man, the one holding the poor guy up by the lapels, asked agitatedly.

"Then I'm going to shoot you, and I'm sure my man over there wouldn't hesitate to do so either…" he trailed off with the threat.

The young one, with the bandanna, stepped forward and looked around, "But he's a.. _paranormal_," he said naively, "Who cares what happens to them? No ones gonna miss the guy."

The guy in question looked at them pleadingly, his eyes begging them to get him out of this situation.

"I'm gonna miss the guy," his companion in the buckskin jacket said, eyes flashing an eerie yellowish-gold color, "and my friend here is right. I won't hesitate to shoot you, even though I don't need to shoot you to stop you..."

The young man stepped back, a disgusted look on his face, "You're one of _them_."

"What do you think he means by _them_?" the man asked Chris, eyebrow raised, eyes still glowing dangerously, drawing his weapon.

The others of the gang seemed to consolidate themselves as they moved closer together; letting the man they had been roughing up go.

"I think he means you're paranormal," Chris said in a matter-o-fact manner, hand moving toward his own weapon.

"So would you say that these fellows are committing a hate crime?" he asked Chris, barely containing a smile.

The group of men suddenly looked much less intimidating, in fact they looked slightly frightened.

"Are you just gonna stand there and let that thing attack us?" the one with the bandanna asked Chris.

"I don't think my friend likes being called a thing," Chris said looking none too concerned. He did draw his weapon now, and pulled his badge, "Now, I'm going to suggest you get the hell out of here, and if I hear word-and I will hear it- of you taking aggressive action against anyone, paranormal or not, I'll bust your asses so fast that you won't know what happened."

At the sight of Chris's gun, the ruffians backed up even further.

"Listen man, we don't want any trouble…" one said, hands up.

"Then get lost," Chris's companion growled deeply.

The four men exchanged a look before grudgingly getting out of there.

Chris smirked as he watched them go, before walking forward to shake hands with his new "friend."

"Chris Larabee," he said as he offered his hand.

"Vin Tanner," the other said, his glowing eyes fading back to brown.

Together they walked toward the man they had defended, who had sunken to the ground at some point during the whole debacle. The man was tall and well built, his black eyes setting off his dark skin tone perfectly.

"Thank you," the man said, his voice on the deeper side, "The name's Nathan Jackson."

"Well Nathan, what did you do to get yourself in such trouble?" Vin asked curiously.

"I didn't do anything wrong," Nathan protested as they helped him up, "I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, they saw me leaving the Charms store."

"Regulars are just pathetic," Vin snarled, patting Nathan on the back.

Chris coughed, and the two looked at him, "No offense," Vin added with a grimace.

"None taken, I guess. You hurt?" he asked in Nathan's direction.

When he received a negative, he went out on a limb, "Well let me show you that not all of us _regulars_ are pathetic, let me buy you a drink. It's the least I can do after the display by the stupider of my kind."

Vin nodded eagerly, a wide smile on his face.

Nathan looked a bit leery, but nodded "I don't see why not. Where you gonna take us?"

Chris shrugged, "How bout you tell me."

The two pondered this. "Well there's this place that's Paranormal friendly around the corner, called The Tavern." Nathan suggested.

The Tavern, Chris had heard of it. It was predominantly a safe-haven for Paranormals, so they could get off of the streets at night and also have a place to enjoy themselves. Visits from Regulars were few and far between. This was Nathan's way of testing him, and he knew that if he said no, then they would part ways here. For some reason, Chris didn't feel like being alone tonight, and it wasn't like he had any friends in the city that he knew of.

"Alright, lead the way," he said agreeably.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Enter Ezra. :-) And JD. You may have noticed (or not) that this sort of follows the pilot episode of the show, thats what I'm going for.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Magnificent Seven, or any storylines that may have spurred thoughts for this story.**

Ezra Standish had positioned himself at a table in the back, but still leaving himself in plain sight of the door. He was watching for someone in particular today, someone who had managed to get away from all of the others pursuing him. He bided his time with a drink- soda, not alcohol; he was on the clock after all- and a deck of cards.

Tonight he was looking for a Fairy who went by Clause. To Ezra, this was a clear-cut assignment, the fairy was guilty, and he was coming in whether he liked it or not. Unfortunately for Ezra and just about any other person trying to catch a Fairy, Fairy's weren't as stupid as everyone made them out to be. They were tricky little buggers, and were not two inches tall like in the stories Regulars told their children. They could be if they wanted to, but any fairy looking to blend in to the world and not get caught as easily would use their magic to transform into a human, and then cover up their magical scent. This usually helped them get away, even from powerful Witches like Ezra. But, tonight, Ezra was not letting the guy get away, and that was because he had swindled the bosses. No one did that and got away with it, and if Ezra let him get away, _he_ would be toast.

All in all it was another typical evening for Standish, he would stake out and follow his tag and maybe play a hand of poker here at the Tavern, he'd heard they had pretty big high stakes games here.

He took in his surroundings. To his left there was a gnome trying to convince his dwarf friend that he had been in a fight with a goblin the previous week. He shook his head, gnomes were notorious liars. To the right there was a table of giggling female nymphs. Up at the bar he noticed a young vampire, but he didn't look like he'd be a problem.

Most young vampires had been born that way, because after the turn of the century the old vamps had been sick of being unable to reproduce. Working hard, they had produced a serum that had allowed pregnancy. It had become a very popular thing. But no one had really known what to expect with the first undead baby, and everyone in the paranormal community had been surprised to find that undead vampires- that is, ones who were born from the womb- were very different from their dead, yet undead, parents. The new infants could be in sunlight, eat normal food, go weeks without feeding and more often than not they were born with an extra sense, or power- much like those seen in witches.

Entering the Tavern were three men, two paranormal and one regular. He studied the regular bold enough to enter the clearly marked paranormal territory. He was tall, dressed in dark jeans with a black shirt and black blazer to match his dark aura. He looked aware of the fact that he stood out here, and yet he did not let it show on his face. He was aware of his surroundings, Ezra knew this because the man's eyes were darting around the room as he and his companions made their way to the bar. Their eyes met briefly and he raised a bemused eyebrow at the man, who looked quickly away. He saw Inez, the Tavern's resident bartender, waitress, and ghost all wrapped up into one package, join the men briefly, a smile on her face as she took their orders.

He let his eyes study the three; Were, Regular, and another- paranormal for sure, but Ezra was unsure what type of Paranormal the man was. He could sense something gentle about the man, and was sure he wouldn't be a threat. As for the Were, he was sure he could handle that problem if it arose.

He let his eyes do a quick once over of the room again, smiling bemusedly at the Nymphs who had turned their attentions on him. He smiled at them and waved them in the direction of some lonely looking Sprites. Shuffling his deck, he dealt himself another game of solitaire. No sign of his tag yet, and he was sure he was in for a long wait.

--

Chris took in his surroundings very carefully, making sure that there were no threats to his well being as he walked into the Tavern with his two new companions. As he scanned the room he knew he should keep his mind open and try not to be surprised by anything. His eyes fell on a normal looking man sitting in the far corner of the room, who sat alone, a drink in one hand a deck of cards in front of him. Their eyes met briefly and the man raised an eyebrow at him as if to ask: What are you doing here?

Chris himself wondered just that, and quickly turned away, following his two friends back to the bar, where, despite his vivid imaginations, he was surprised to be met by a ghost who took their orders. He knew he had been transparent when he heard the amused chuckles from his companions.

"First time in the Tavern huh?" Nathan asked him with a smile.

"Yeah," he said, still slightly dazed. "So, are you two local?"

"Yup, lived here for the past three years, been working on starting up a practice for Paranormals. No real luck though. Do a little P.I. work on the side sometimes with a friend of mine, just to pay the bills." Nathan said, animatedly telling him of his past.

They both looked at Vin, who grinned at them, "Nah, just visiting. I'm a bounty hunter, from Texas originally. Not a lot of work lately, the MEA has been taken all the good work." he said with a small sigh.

"Ain't that the truth," Nathan said with a groan.

"What's the MEA?" Chris asked curiously.

The two exchanged a look, "You work in law enforcement and you haven't heard of the MEA?" Vin asked looking doubtful.

"I'm freelance, mainly I just drift," he explained.

"MEA stands for Magical Enforcement Agency, they're the law around here and…well, everywhere there's magical folks residing," Nathan explained.

His eyebrows raised in surprise. "Huh," he said, somewhat speechless.

"So," Vin said turning the conversation back to slightly lighter waters, "You're not local then?"

"No, actually, I'm not. I'm here at the request of ADA Travis." Chris said with a roll of his eyes. Then he frowned slightly, a thought coming to mind. Travis had said that he could handpick his own men…and these too had some experience. A bounty hunter and a doctor who investigated on the side, both paranormal which would give them the upper hand… he needed a change in his life. Ah what the hell.

"I know this is crazy and kinda sudden, but what if I were to offer you a position on a team of local paranormal/regular enforcement, under the command of ADA Travis? Travis has noticed the spike in crime, both in Regular and Paranormal, and he wants to start cleaning up the city, or at least make it safer for all of its citizens."

The two were speechless, before Vin's grin reappeared, "You're right, you are crazy, but works slow now, and if it's a payin' job I say what the hell."

He grinned and slapped Vin on the back, "Good."

Together they looked at Nathan, and Nathan looked back before nodding, "Alright, but I have a condition. I'd like you to bring my partner Josiah, the one I do a little P.I. work with on board."

"Done," Chris said without hesitation, patting Nathan on the back too. It was then that he looked out the window and saw what appeared to be, his oldest and dearest friend. "Hold on guys," he said as he ran outside looking around. Damn, he'd missed him, but he was sure he knew where he could find him. He rejoined his friends, and that was when he noticed the young man across the bar looking at him. He was shorter than Chris, but he had a dangerous look to him, and he looked, well, hungry. Vampire? Chris wondered.

Before he could ask either of his two companions, the man had joined them and was smiling at him eerily.

"I heard the three of you talking about working for Travis. I'd like to join." he said, shaking his head to get the dark brown bangs out of his eyes.

Chris frowned, "I don't take kindly to eavesdropping; and no offense kid, but you look inexperienced, and a bit like you want to eat me. I think I'll pass."

The kid's eyes flashed red briefly before he pushed away from the bar and walked out the door.

"Vampires," Vin said with a roll of his eyes.

"I wouldn't have pissed him off that way if I'd have been you," a friendly voice, dripping with sweetness said to his left.

They looked over to see a tall, muscular man who looked almost too handsome to be real standing beside them watching the vampire go.

"And why is that?" Nathan asked in annoyance.

The man cocked his head slightly, "Because he just might eat you."

Chris turned away from the strange man and was about to ask Vin a question when a new voice came from behind him.

"Clause, I see you've made some new friends," the southern voice said with a bored tone.

The man froze, before turning around, "Standish!" he cried before turning to run.

"Ah ah ah," the man called Standish said, and Chris watched in surprise as the man who had been sitting alone in the back of the Tavern had now sprung into action and grabbed the man by the wrist and spun him around, rather harshly into the bar, cuffing him.

"I believe Clause here would like to return your wallets to you," he said handing them each a wallet, before turning to his tag and saying, sounding a bit disappointed, "You've lost any shred of respect I could have had for you, sinking to petty larsony."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: The first part of this is what happened in the bar through Ezra's eyes, and I wrote them both at different times and couldn't decide which one to use. So I decided to use them both, as it will give the difference in view between Regular, and Paranormal.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the magnificent seven.**

Ezra had first noticed the arrival of his tag in the Tavern when he'd been watching the young looking vampire during his confrontation with the regular. He would have known it was Clause from a mile away, because as most fairies did when they transformed, they made themselves just a little too perfect. Too tall, too handsmome, and so on. It was obvious even more so when he noticed the fairy easily pick all three pockets from where he was standing. Ezra slammed back the rest of his drink, slid his deck of cards back into his pocket and stood. Without anyone noticing he had made his way to the bar and stood behind Clause.

"I would never have presumed that you could have sunken as low as petty larsony, Clause," he drawled, folding his arms across his chest.

The fairy spun around in surprise, "Standish!" he cried, making a run for the door.

It was a bit disconcerting that Clause knew his name, but then, he supposed it wasn't all that much of a surprise considering his postition in the MEA.

He got maybe one foot away from Ezra before Ezra stopped him, grabbing him by the ear- a fairy's most sensitive spot- and spinning him around into the bar, so that his head was jammed onto the counter. He slipped a pair of his charmed cuffs, lower level charms- he'd run out of his higher level ones, hopefully these would do, around Clause's wrists before turning to the three men staring at him in surprise.

"I think Clause would like to return your wallets," he said with a smirk as he handed each his own, "And I think he'd like to apologize, wouldn't you Clause?"

He squeezed down on Clause's ear to reinforce this sentiment.

"Like hell I do...Ouch! Alright already, just stop squeezing my ear!"

Ezra gave him a look and he turned to the three, "I'm sorry! Geez," he growled trying to slip out of Ezra's grip.

Ezra smirked again, before turning to the men, "The vagabond was correct about one thing, you shouldn't have aggravated the vampire back there. He did look slightly voracious."

The man dressed in black nodded, "Thanks for the advice, but I can take care of myself."

"I highly doubt that," Ezra informed him, leaning against the bar, still keeping a firm grip on Clause's ear, "but I figure if you have your canine and mysterious friends along with you, you might just make it in our microcosm."

"You like to talk big, don't ya, Witch?" the Were said with a tinge of annoyance.

"Whenever possible," he replied with a grin, and then he tipped his imaginary hat to them, leading Clause out the door, to send him uptown where the runners would transport him back to headquarters to be dealt with.

--

It was several hours after they had encountered Standish – a witch, who Vin informed him, was quite obviously working with the MEA- and they were walking out of the Tavern into the dark streets.

"We'll meet up tomorrow morning at the Fourth Street Café, make plans. I have someone else I'd like to bring on board if I can locate him. I saw him tonight, I know I did." Chris informed them.

"Where ya stayin?" Vin asked him as they walked down the street.

"At the World Famous Ritz Hotel," he told them. The Ritz wasn't the nicest, but it surely was one of the better ones, but affordable.

"That's close to where I live," Nathan said, as Vin added brightly, "Hey me too!"

"Want to split a Taxi then?" Chris asked, because here taxi's were expensive, and walking home wouldn't have been safe- at least for him and Nathan. He was pretty sure that Vin could take care of himself. After Standish's "canine" comment, he figured that meant Vin was a Werewolf.

The three agreed to take the taxi back to the hotel and then Vin and Chris would walk Nathan home, and then head back to the hotel for the night. The next morning they would head over to meet one Josiah Sanchez, and, if Chris was lucky, the old friend that he'd thought he'd seen.

When they reached their destination, and they had begun their four block trek to Nathan's house, their idle conversation fell silent for awhile, as each pondered what the upcoming day would hold for them.

It was about two blocks in when they heard the terrified scream. They looked at each other with surprise, and it was Vin who motioned to the office building across the street. There was a light on, on the sixth floor. They took off in that direction when a second scream followed, and made it all the way to the door before encountering a problem.

"It's locked," Chris growled.

"Not a problem," Vin said with a grin, eyes flashing yellow, and he pulled, and the door opened with a harsh jerk.

"Pretty good at that, huh?" Nathan asked him, tossing him a sideways glance as they made their way up the stairwell.

"Had a lot of practice," he said with a shrug, taking the lead, not looking the least bit tired from the stairs.

"That'll come in handy then," Nathan said with a small smile for his new friend.

Chris shushed them as they reached the sixth floor, he had drawn his gun. The screaming had stopped, and now there was only the occasional creak that signaled to them that something was moving.

"Blood," Nathan said quietly, causing Chris to look over at him in surprise. He looked to where Nathan was pointing and saw that it was blood. A little drop here and there. He looked over at Vin to see if this bothered him at all.

Vin gave him a strange look. "What? You watch too many movies, regular. I do not go around eating people and I do not find blood appealing in the least," he said, sounding slightly affronted.

Chris held up his hands in defense, "Sorry, you can never tell what's real, you know?"

Vin nodded and rolled his eyes but gave him a slight smile to show that all was forgiven.

They followed the light trail of blood to a cubicle, and were not prepared for what they saw, at least, Chris wasn't. He had been in law enforcement for over ten years and he thought he'd seen the worst of it.

On the floor of the cubicle was a man, neck twisted at an odd angle, eyes wide open in fright. What disturbed Chris was the fact that his tongue was missing, blood covering the mouth. It had been viscously torn out. But what really set this one apart from the others was the fact that the man was also in two pieces.

"Looks like we're a bit late," Vin said looking at the body with a bit of discomfort.

"What would have done this?" Chris asked, "And whatever it is, it must still be in the building!"

They were all startled by the sound of a new voice joining them, "I highly doubt it, in fact I'm quite certain that he's been out of the building for several minutes."

Chris spun around, coming face to face with the Witch from the Tavern. "What the hell are you doing here?"

He gave Chris a look, "I could ask you the same question. You see, I am here on an official capacity, you on the other hand…are intruding upon a crime scene."

"How'd the MEA know this was going down right now?" Vin asked suspiciously.

"They didn't, I was tracking down a lead on a tag who'd been possibly sighted in the area." he said coolly.

"And it led you here?" Nathan demanded.

"Well, seeing as I am here…" Ezra let his sentence trail off.

Chris frowned at him, "Well you can tell your bosses that we'll handle this one. We're working for D.A. Travis, and we can take care of our own town."

Standish let out a bark of laughter, "It doesn't work that way, Mr. Larabee. Your boss has no authority in Paranormal matters, no matter what he thinks."

At Chris's surprised look, Ezra rolled his eyes. "Of course I know your name, you think I'd go into any situation unprepared? Here's the deal, perhaps I might be willing to share this case with you, if, and there is a big IF, if you're willing to turn him over to me when we catch him."

Chris opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off once again by a new voice.

"I thought I smelled fresh blood."

Chris turned to see the vampire from before and threw his hands up in the air exasperatedly, "Is there a sign somewhere that says, Paranormal activity, please enter?"

The vampire smiled toothily at him, "Yes, and its neon."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: So sorry this has taken me so long. But here's one that's a little longer than normal! And for those of you waiting for a chapter in "hell is a road" it should be up tonight or tomorrow sometime! (also, sorry for any grammatical errors)**

**Disclaimer: Do not own anything **

Chris sighed as he rolled over and hit the alarm clock, he was not nearly ready to get up. But staying awake til 3 in the morning does that to a person, and seeing as it was only 7:30 a.m.

At the arrival of Standish and the Vampire (whose name it turns out was JD Dunne) things had become quite chaotic, and after half an hour of being talked in circles by Standish, Chris had finally given in, agreeing, that if and when they caught whoever had done that, they would allow Standish to take him in. Except in his mind, he had no real intentions of doing so.

The Vampire- JD, he corrected himself mentally- had also insisted upon tagging along, saying that he'd always wanted to be part of a big adventure, also adding that he would be helpful because of his computer skills (Chris had looked surprised again at this, and JD had informed him that his opinions on Vampires were bias because of all the human films he'd apparently watched.) and other special talents he had.

So after that was all settled upon, he'd taken out his phone to call the regular police, Standish had stopped him with a roll of his eyes.

"Mr. Larabee, just what do you intend to tell the authorities? That you believe this man was murdered by something paranormal?"

Chris raised his eyebrows in a very "duh" expression. "Just what else would I do?"

JD, who had silently been observing up until this point decided to put his two cents in. "I'm gonna have to agree with Ez, here," ("Ez-ra" Ezra said with a glower.) he began, "The regulars won't know what to do about it. I mean all they can do is make it look like an accident so the rest of the population doesn't realize its actually paranormal."

"That's when they call us," Ezra added, with a triumphant look.

Chris felt a migraine coming on, he had been in law enforcement for over 10 years, he knew how to handle a crime scene. But he sighed with defeat and shot an agitated glance at Vin, who was leaning up against a door frame looking like he had no real intentions of coming to his rescue, and then over at Nathan who refused to meet his glance.

"Ok, fine. What do we do now?" he asked Ezra, his dislike for this idea clear in his tone.

Ezra gave him a slight grimace, "We call in the cleaners."

Vin crinkled his nose, Nathan winced, and even JD groaned.

At this point Chris drew himself out of his reverie and got up to shower, so that he would make it to his meeting with Vin, Nathan and this Josiah in time. They were meeting at a little diner just a few blocks from the hotel he and Vin were staying in.

He mulled over Vin's explanation of the cleaners as the hot water began to pour down, scalding his skin ever so pleasantly. They had all left Ezra to deal with the "cleaners" and Vin had told him as they were walking back from dropping Nathan off, that the cleaners were a group of dark rooted paranormals who claimed that their only purpose was to prevent extreme exposure and clean up after messes like the one they had stumbled upon that evening. But they were a dark bunch and almost everyone felt uncomfortable around them, as if sensing some darker purpose. But they were contracted with the MEA so most Paranormals made it their purpose to simply avoid the cleaners.

As soon as he showered, shaved, and had downed enough coffee to keep him awake for days, he moved to the door and opened it, pushing his gun into place as he stepped from the doorway, coming face to face with Vin.

"You're early," he said, and his surprise must have shown on his face.

"So are you," was all he said as they began to silently, but companionably, walk in the direction of the diner.

As they made their way, Chris saw something out of the corner of his eye, something…someone very familiar. Someone he could've sworn he'd seen last night outside the Tavern. He threw out a hand and grabbed Vin's arm, "wait, I need you to help me with something."

Vin cocked an eyebrow at him in surprise.

This was how Vin ended up standing outside of room 211 in one of the sleaziest motels in Four Corners with a grin on his face, hand raised to knock.

"Hey you in there!" he shouted, attempting to sound gruff and angry.

He could almost here the frantic scrambling.

"What are you doin?" he bellowed through the door trying not to laugh.

"Just a minute!" a desperate feminine voice called out, the shuffling was getting quicker, and then there was a thud, and Vin pushed open the door.

--

Buck Wilmington was having a _very_ good time. He'd found some acceptable company the previous night, and the festivities had carried on into the morning. He'd been just about ready to talk the young lady into some breakfast in bed, when he'd heard the thunderous knock on the door and the shout of "Hey you in there!"

His companion of the fairer sex had jerked herself away from him with panic in her eyes. "That must be John!"

Buck felt his eyes widen, "Your husband? I thought you said you two were divorced and he was in jail right now!"

"Well he must be out!" she said hurriedly shoving his clothes at him and moving him toward the window.

"What are you doin in there?" boomed the voice outside the door.

"just a minute!" she called back, tossing a worried glance at the door.

"You gotta go!"

"What?!? Where?" Buck asked looking around.

"The window!" she cried pushing him toward it, stopping to give him one last kiss before practically shoving him through the window onto the roofing beneath it, where he promptly stumbled back and tumbled from the roof, clothes falling with him. He landed with a thump.

Groaning he looked up at the window, and saw a man leaning out the window above with a smug grin on his face, tangled hair falling about his shoulders. He growled, pulling himself off the ground, when he heard the laughter.

He spun around with every intention of knocking a few teeth out, until he saw just who it was that was laughing.

"Chris Larabee!" he crowed, launching himself up off of the grass beneath the roofing that he had landed on and over to the sidewalk where Chris was standing.

Chris gave him a look as he walked up to him, arms open to embrace him. Chris gently pulled himself out of the way and looked pointedly at Buck's state of dress, or rather undress. The only thing Buck was wearing at the moment was a pair of boxers with clovers with little guns on them, and a pair of long gray socks. He looked down and smirked, before jogging back to the grass to retrieve his clothes and put them on.

The people passing by gave him odd looks and moved by much quicker than they had been previously.

Once he had yanked on his jeans and pulled on his tshirt, he turned back to Chris, a wide grin on his face. It turned into a half glower as he noticed the man from the room standing next to Chris, the grin of a Cheshire cat on his face.

Chris just grinned and slapped Buck on the back, "Buck, this is Vin. Vin, this is Mr. Buck Wilmington of the Colorado Bureau of Investigations."

Vin smiled and extended his hand, and just like that, all the animosity was forgotten.

"Former CBI Chris, I've retired from the business." Buck said as he began to walk next to them.

"Well that's a shame," Chris commented as they walked.

"Yeah…what is?" he asked in confusion.

Chris and Vin shared a look.

"Well, I have a job that you might be interested in, but since you're out of the business," Chris shrugged and kept walking.

"Now wait just a minute Larabee!" Buck called after them, and Chris shared a grin with Vin. "If you think that you're gonna go off on some crazy job without this old dog, then you're outta your mind! Now what's this job you've been talking about?"

Chris just grinned, and clapped him on the shoulder again. "I'll tell you all about it over breakfast old buddy."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: Yay! Another chapter finally posted. I know that it has been a LONG time since I've updated, but I promise, neither of my stories has been forgotten. For those of you waiting for "Hell is a Road" to be updated, fear not, for I am hoping to have the next few chapters up by Sunday. **

**This chapter may be a bit sloppy (or maybe I'm just over-criticizing myself **** ) but I have been trying to get it just right for some time now. So, things might move kind of quickly. Who knows. I'm mostly satisfied with it, so I hope you like it too.**

**Read on! And I love to hear your feedback, so don't be shy!**

**As always, the Disclaimer applies.**

When Chris, Buck and Vin arrived at the diner they were greeted by Nathan, and the man whom he assumed had to be Josiah. He was a tall man, taller than all of them there probably, but his bear like appearance was dwarfed by his sincerity. Even to Chris, who did not trust people very easily, the man came across as one of the most sincere and trustworthy men he had met in a long time. And he'd only known the man for a few minutes.

He began to fill Buck and Josiah in on the plans and the team that he was forming, and was surprised by the eagerness both showed. When he asked why both were so eager to join up, Josiah gave him a thoughtful look.

"Well, brother, I guess it's because it's the means to an end. Brother Nathan and I have been working for years in this town, trying to do what we can to ease any suffering we've noticed around, paranormal or otherwise, but two no-body paranormal PI's can only do so much before they have to take a step back because they aren't welcome."

Chris studied the two newest recruits to his "team," and nodded. "Alright, you're in."

Buck grinned at him and clapped his oldest friend on the back, "So fill me in about this case!"

Giving him a smile, he motioned for Vin and Nathan to start filling them in. As he listened, inserting his own two cents where it mattered, he took a moment to catalogue their surroundings. His gaze fell to the street outside the diner and he was surprised to see Standish there, watching them. Standish was a mystery to him. The man had fought hard to muscle his way in on the case and yet there he was standing across the street, alone.

He wouldn't claim to know anything about the MEA because two days ago he had been blissfully unaware of its existence, but he couldn't understand why they wanted this case so badly and why Standish was distancing himself from them. He_ had_ invited Standish to breakfast, not because he genuinely liked him, but as a professional courtesy, which he would extend to anyone he was sharing a case with (whether or not he was sharing it willingly), because he'd been informed by Travis that he would have to be professional, and the MEA was no one to mess around with. He took another moment to reflect on the conversation he'd had with Travis the previous night, it had been brief, but to the point.

_Chris had hesitantly picked up his cell phone and dialed Travis as soon as he'd returned to his room. He would give this staying in one place thing a try._

_"Travis," the gruff voice answered._

_"I've rethought my position, sir. I'd like to take you up on your offer."_

_"Larabee. You called me after midnight to tell me that? You couldn't have done it tomorrow?"_

_"No. Its important sir, I've already come across our first case."_

_"Larabee," there was a long suffered sigh, "I'm pretty sure its my job to give cases, you are working for me after all."_

_"I came across it by accident, I can get a report to your desk by tomorrow morning, including one with the names of the men on my team."_

_"Well gee, you already have your team set up too. What are you calling me for?"_

_"Is that an okay to go ahead with the case sir?"_

_"Yes. Yes! But as soon as you get the chance, I want those men in my office so I can get their paper work taken care of. They'll be unofficial until I get it on paper. I don't know what this case is Larabee, but use your judgement and fill me in tomorrow."_

_"Yes sir. And sir, I do have a question. There's an agent from the MEA involved with this case..."_

_"The MEA? Christ Larabee, you couldn't even wait one day before getting yourself in deep. Tread carefully, and don't piss the MEA off. Extend every courtesy to them, thats an order."_

_"But sir,"_

_"No discussions Larabee. You're damn lucky that not only have you been a good freelance agent, that I like you. Now goodnight."_

Coming back to the moment, he realized that Standish was looking directly at him, a blank expression in his eyes. Larabee motioned for him to join them, and the man shook his head slightly. Frowning, he stood and made his way to the door, telling the others he'd be back soon. When he made it outside, he was surprised to find the man gone, only pavement staring back at him. He scanned the area and then sighed, before turning to go back inside. He paused once, looking back, almost feeling the phantom gaze of the man who'd been watching him. Not seeing anything, he shrugged and made his way back to his seat.

Ezra Standish watched with interest as the group of people met in the diner. This group of "investigators" (insert eye roll here) that he was supposed to share his case with. For a moment, he felt jealous of their easy camaraderie, it was something he found very difficult and here these men were, most having just met each other and they were already laughing and enjoying each other's company like they were old friends. Two new people had joined the group he'd seen last night at the crime scene, two extremely tall men, one regular and one paranormal. He did not see the vampire among them, though he knew that the boy was alive and not Dead, he suspected that he simply wasn't comfortable around most regulars.

This turn of events had been... difficult, and it taken almost an hour of convincing for his boss to allow him to proceed with this new plan. His boss, Cordona, was a Goblin and had a legendary temper in the department. He was widely known for having once ripped off the head of a dwarf, literally, when he'd failed to complete his job. Whether or not that particular rumor was true, he didn't know, but he was determined not to find out. Cordona had ordered him to stay on top of the case, and under no circumstances was he to allow Larabee to take the lead on this case or to have the team be successful. The MEA did _not_ want anyone tramping on their turf.

Personally, he could care less about Larabee and his team. He had worked alone for 5 years; he had no plans to start working _with_ someone now. None of the partners he'd ever had, had been worth the trouble and pain they'd caused him, so he kept his distance from the idea and things had worked out just fine for him. Watching the men eat their breakfast and laugh like they were having fun brought up a strange feeling in him that he hadn't felt in a long time. He squared his shoulders and squashed it down, before turning his eyes to the men one last time. When he looked, he found eyes staring back at him, it was Larabee. Their eyes met and he frowned, telling himself to look away, but found he couldn't. Larabee motioned for him to join, and Ezra shook his head and stayed put. Brows furrowed, Larabee's stare burrowed into him like he was looking for something that was not easily discernable through the glass, across the street. Larabee made to stand up and head for the door, and Ezra took the opportunity to disappear further into the crowd, where he could still observe, but not be seen.

"A funny Group isn't they?" A voice from behind him asked, causing him to tense up, but he restrained his urge to spin around and put up a fighting stance. Allowing his heart rate to return to normal, he did not need to look back to see who was behind him.

"They are..." he searched for the right word, finally settling on, "unique."

His companion moved to lean against the wall directly beside Ezra, "Even stranger thing is, we could be a part of it."

"No," Ezra said without any real conviction, "People like us are never accepted into _their_ circles."

"They've accepted a Werewolf, an Empath, and a healer. Why would a Vampire or a Witch be any different?" he countered.

"I don't have an answer for you. It may be because I don't want to become a part of their little unit, and you actively drink blood. We frighten them. We're more different than the others. Take your pick."

"Hmm," JD replied, eyes gazing across the street, an almost wistful expression on his face as they watched Larabee give up on his search for Ezra and return to his companions.

They stood in companionable silence for a while, and it was almost 20 minutes later when he turned and was unsurprised to find his companion had already gone. He shot one last glance toward the men in the diner, before heading back to the crime scene of the night before.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: No note! Just surprise! Another semi-lengthy chapter! Go forth! Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

The next thing Chris had done after they'd finished breakfast was herd them all over to Travis' office so that they could get started on the paperwork. This had to be the fastest that he'd ever hired anyone, and the most unorthodox. As they were getting set up, Chris wondered briefly if he should mention JD the vampire sleuth-wannabee to Travis. He decided on no, the kid didn't have much business working with the law in his opinion. And if he showed up again, Chris would show him the door, as nicely as possible of course.

Chris wanted this team to be official in some format before they did anything because he knew the feel of the official hammer coming down and the damage it could cause. So, he had introduced all of them to Travis, who had proceed to give a quick speech, explaining the seriousness of this new team and it's necessity.

"Sorry we don't have any time to celebrate this new division gentleman, and that I haven't announced it to the public yet; but you've got work to do. We'll consider this," Travis paused, "a trial period. If you do well, then we'll make it permanent. I would really appreciate it if you didn't screw this up."

Each walked away with a temporary badge and a set of regulations. Once they were all set, Chris divvied out jobs, splitting them up to get the job done faster. It was while he was doing this that he realized how much he had missed leading a team, and a part of him began to think that _maybe_ staying in one place, this place, wouldn't be so bad. He sent Vin, Nathan and Josiah to do research on the area and speak to any family the guy had, as well as come up with a history and any enemies.

As for himself and Buck, they would return to the crime scene. As the most experienced investigators on this newly formed teamed, he figured of all of them, they would have the best chance at seeing something the untrained eye wouldn't. Now, neither of them was paranormal and that would be the one challenge, but he figured that their own personal pain in the ass Witch/MEA agent would be present to point out their shortcomings and at the same time would provide them with what they were missing.

It was as Chris was trying to find his keys to the Ram, that Buck had his first encounter with JD.

"Looking for these?" a voice asked from somewhere behind them.

Startled, Buck spun around, hand instinctively on his gun. Chris rolled his eyes heavenward and gave a sigh, waving Buck to stand down.

"Listen, kid, hand over the keys. Now." his tone of voice gave no room for argument and he had on his best 'test me and i'll shoot you' glare. But apparently, the guy was suicidal. Or, the rational part of his mind reminded him, maybe he simply wasn't afraid of him because he was a _vampire._

"Hmmm... I don't know. Give him his keys or not?" the young Vampire mused to himself.

"Who the hell is this kid?" Buck asked with a raised eyebrow.

"This," Chris said with a roll of his eyes, "is JD. The Vampire. Kid, this is Buck Wilmington."

"He's a vampire?" Buck asked with surprise as he reached out to shake the boy's hand. He looked to be no older than 20, wearing a pair of faded jeans and an overcoat, he looked normal enough..Surely Chris was kidding. Then again, what did normal actually mean anyway? The hat he was wearing made buck cringe; Buck Wilmington may not have been the king of fashion be he knew enough to know that that hat should never have been made. He made a mental note to seek out and destroy it at a later date.

"Yes. And he's going to give me my keys and get lost." Chris snarled.

JD smirked, allowing his extra sharp canine's to show through slightly. "Hmm. I'm pretty sure last night we agreed that you would let me tag along. And I won't take no for an answer. I'll just keep shadowing you if you try to leave me behind. Also, I would appreciate being called by my given name. Say it with me: JD. Not 'the vampire' or 'kid' got it? I'm a person just like you."

Throwing his hands up in the air, he groaned. "Fine! Just get in the damn car, and give me my keys."

A self-satisfied smirk crossed JD's face as he tossed the keys to Chris and walked past Buck to the car.

Arriving at the scene, Chris, Buck and JD exited the Ram and stood before the building from the previous evening.

"Something doesn't seem quite right here," Buck said with a furrowed brow as he looked up at the building.

"Yeah," Chris frowned, feeling suddenly uneasy, "everything looks normal. Like someone didn't just die here last night. All the cars are parked in the lot, no one's walking around outside. It's way too quiet. And that window from the fourth story isn't broken anymore."

"And have you noticed how there's no sounds at all? No birds singing, no breeze, no traffic in this area..." Buck trailed off, his eyes scanning the surrounding area.

It was JD's turn to roll his eyes. "Obviously you've never dealt with the Cleaners before. This is normal. Remove all signs that there was any Paranormal activity, come up with a new story and background as to how they disappeared. Instead of a brutal murder, now its just an accident that happened on his own time, a biking accident maybe. Or maybe he ran into a Regular serial killer on his way home. You know, something that doesn't scream 'paranormal activity here! Let's get the pitchforks and torches!' As for the lack of any natural activity, it's an after affect of the magic used to clean up. They tap into the ley- lines to do it, so for a time afterwards, people generally feel uneasy and usually try to avoid the area- you may be feeling that now actually, and wildlife migrates away from the area."

Chris turned to him in anger, "What! You mean that they destroyed all of the evidence, and made damn sure we couldn't question anyone about what happened! Damnit! I knew I shouldn't have trusted that son of a bi..."

"Well that's not a very eloquent thing to say about the person who's making sure you aren't flattened like a parasite by my superiors," a voice said from somewhere to the left of them.

Chris and Buck both visibly jumped as Standish's voice rang out like a gun-shot in the otherwise silent world.

"Would the two of you STOP doing that!" Chris growled at Ezra and JD, as he tamped down on the adrenaline rush he'd just received, "Every time I turn around, one of you is jumping out of the shadows. You're shaving years off of my life!"

"I assure you, I had no such intentions. Just because you cannot hear my approach doesn't mean my intentions are malevolent." Standish said with a very obviously forced smile.

Chris just glared at him.

"I see that you've brought a new friend to play the game," Standish commented, giving Buck the critical once over, before addressing him. "Seeing as doesn't appear that Mr. Larabee is going to introduce us, my name is Standish."

As Chris shot death-glares at Standish, Buck was busy examining the man that was supposedly part of this mysterious MEA, and a Witch to boot. Well, if the kid was Vampire, he supposed he could believe that this extravagantly over-dressed man was a Witch. This thought made him smile slightly, at how far he'd come in the past few years: From almost complete denial of the Paranormal world, to general acceptance.

Sticking out his hand to the man, Buck opened his mouth to introduce himself. "Pleased to meet you pard."

Ezra's face crinkled in dismay, "My name is not 'pard', Mr. Wilmington."

He grinned, "Name's Buck, none of that Mr. Stuff... Wait, how did you know _my _name?"

Ezra smiled knowingly at him, "I never go into any situation unprepared, MR. Wilmington. Now, what is it that you thought you'd accomplish by coming here Mr. Larabee?"

Chris glowered at him again. "I _was _going to do a sweep and see if there was any useful information that we missed. But you tampered with the evidence!"

Ezra smirked at him, "I wouldn't call it tampering Mr. Larabee, the Cleaners did a very thorough job as you can tell, but the MEA also did a very thorough sweep before they showed up. In fact, out of the kindness in my heart, I brought you all of the information that we collected."

Chris accepted the file with a wary look in Standish's direction, and opened it to look through the information. He tensed when he realized that JD was standing next to him reading over his shoulder.

"Do you mind?" he snapped. The vampire smiled at him, and shook his head, "Nah, not at all." But he didn't step back.

Clenching his jaw, he tried to block out his frustration and turned back to the file. Not looking up from the documents, he said "I should have been there while you were doing the sweep. If I'd have known I would never have left you alone there."

"Are you implying that I'm not trustworthy?" Ezra asked with a raised eyebrow.

Chris didn't answer.

"Well, Mr. Larabee, I'll tell you this once, as I'm sure you've already been informed by your superior. The MEA is not to be trifled with. If you'd been there last night, you wouldn't remember a thing about it, and you and your new merry band of men would not be here today, working on this case."

Chris flexed his neck; he could feel a headache coming on.

"He's right," JD said from his left. "The MEA is all about erasing memory. Been there, done that. As long as you stay out of their way, they generally don't make it their life's mission to destroy you."

Buck and Chris exchanged a look.

"Thanks. For the info. I'm going to take it back to the others, and see what we can find out. I'll be in touch." Chris said, without sincerity.

Ezra nodded and turned to walk away as they made their way to the Ram.

"And you," Chris said turning to JD as soon as he was sure they were out of earshot of Standish, "you really want to help out?"

JD nodded eagerly at him., eyes glowing at the prospect of being included.

"Wait til he's gone and then go into the building and take another look around," he held up his hand to forestall any argument, "I know what he said. But do it anyway, on the chance that there's something that will give us an edge on this case."

JD gave him a calculating look, "Okay, I'll do it. "

Chris nodded, and motioned Buck to get in the car.

"He's not that bad you know," JD called after him, but when Chris turned around to address this particular, he was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: The only thing I can offer to you are apologies for a very long dry spell/writers block. No matter how long it takes to update, I have full intentions of finishing both this story and Hell is a Road. Enjoy this chapter, and expect more within the week :) Within the next few days if I'm lucky. I'm very excited to be back in the proverbial writing saddle.**

**Any inconsistencies or grammatical errors are all my own. Please feel free to review and/or offer suggestions or criticism.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the wonderful AU that I'm thoroughly enjoying exploring.**

Chapter 8:

Vin sat in the passenger seat of Josiah's Jeep Cherokee staring silently out the window as the outskirts of what passed as Four Corners Suburbia swirled by. The information that Standish had provided them had been surprisingly thorough according to Wilmington. That didn't mean Vin was going to trust everything the agent told them at face value, but for the moment it appeared like he was being straight with them.

The dead man's name had been Benjamin Jones and from what he could tell he'd led an exceedingly boring life. He lived with his long-term girlfriend Amelia Rosales, and worked at a software company that resided on that 23rd floor of the office building he'd been murdered in. He rode his bike to work in the morning, stopped at a local Starbucks for coffee before and after work, and came home to walk their bronze colored Chihuahua Paco. What Vin couldn't figure out was how these things came together with Magic, dismemberment, and the MEA.

The trio had been out for almost two hours, and in that time they had located the Jones' family and questioned them as carefully as they could without revealing that his death wasn't the biking accident the public had been led to believe it was. They had learned two things from these interviews; the first thing was that he had definitely not been Paranormal, nor did he appear to have any ties to Magic at all. The second thing was that his death was not the first one that had occurred in the building. There had been 3 others before him and all of them had been unfortunate "accidents." The families chalked it up to bad luck.

The investigators had, of course, determined that it was less about luck and more about Magic of the illegal sorts. There was something much bigger and deeper going on within that office building. What it was they didn't know, but they were going to find out.

Josiah and Nathan had remained silent throughout the ride back to Travis' office, and that suited Vin just fine because to be honest he wasn't a man of many words. This sudden change of events had thrown him for a loop, although he'd never say so out loud. Vin didn't have much in the world, but what he did have he didn't count on it being there the next time he went looking for it. There was an Aunt back in Texas, but other than her, all of his immediate family members had long since passed. He'd been on his own since he was sixteen, and it had been a challenge, both emotionally and physically. Being a werewolf was a lonely life that didn't allow much room for staying in one place. Whenever someone found out that he was one, and someone always did, he often faced the barrel of a gun that was either running him out of town or trying to kill him. So he'd learned very quickly to be fast on the uptake and just move on before anyone could come close.

He had been 11 when he was bitten, and it was one of the most vivid memories he had. He also didn't like to think on it much. The one person who had always loved him regardless of his 'problem' had been his mother, even after his turning. He'd lost her at age 16, which had left him alone, orphaned and without a soul in the world who cared what happened to him. Shortly after her death, he'd met a man named Thomas Zenetti, another Werewolf. Tom had taken Vin under his wing and shown him that being a Werewolf didn't have to be the painful existence he had been living. He'd taught Vin that there were ways to control the urges and transformations, and most importantly he had taught him that even though Regulars couldn't understand them or accept their differences they were still worth saving. After several years of traveling through Texas with Zenetti, he had been introduced to the life of a bounty hunter, and had since lived from bounty to bounty.

All of this working with other people and relying on them was disturbing. The little voice in his head told him that he was more disturbed by the fact that he was falling into place amongst the group with supreme ease.

"Penny for your thoughts brother?"

Josiah's deep timbre startled him out of his reverie and he turned to glance at the man behind the wheel. "Sorry?"

"You seemed to be deep in thought, I was just wondering about what," Josiah replied with a small smile.

Vin didn't smile back, but looked at him calculatingly. "Just thinking on home."

"Ah, a subject close to the heart. Where are you from Vin?"

"Texas," he replied simply, not willing to elaborate further.

"You're not really much of a talker are you?" Nathan piped up from the back seat.

Vin stifled a sigh; it was usually inevitable for someone to make comments on his lack of talking, and most of the time they related it to his intelligence. "Not really. That a problem?"

"Perfectly alright brother, the way I figure it, I talk enough for the three of us. Nate wasn't a big talker when we first met either. Me, I was born talking…"

"Preaching is more like it," Nathan jibed with a knowing grin.

Vin stiffened momentarily, stormy amber eyes again flicking carefully over to the man in the seat next to him. He often had the worst kind of trouble with the religious types. He stared at Josiah and glanced back at Nathan. When Josiah simply smiled back at him, hazel eyes honest and full of and undeniable spark of intelligence and understanding, he relaxed.

"What Nate means to say is that I am a long winded fellow. And if perhaps at times I draw upon old parables and sermons to guide my companions, then it is only with good intentions, and a grain of salt," he said giving Vin a silly smile, as if they had known each other for years and were sharing in an old joke.

"And if you ever feel he's being too preach-y just slap him on the back and tell him to can-it." Nate added from behind, and Josiah rolled his eyes.

"You have a way with words, brother Nate."

Vin turned his gaze back to the window, but smiled for the first time since they'd gotten in the car, his fears assuaged for the moment.

"So where are ya'll from?" he asked eyes remaining locked on the blurring greens and oranges as the car kept moving.

"Well I'm from Chicago," Nathan began cheerfully, "Southside. Have a big family, two brothers and three sisters and various other members of the family hanging around. Being the only Paranormal in the family was surprisingly easy. They protected me, accepted me, and loved me. And trust me, I know how hard it is to find that kind of acceptance."

Vin nodded slightly, "And you Josiah?"

It wasn't often he was given the opportunity to use someone's first name, and so it felt strange to hold such familiarity with someone he barely knew.

"Ah, well that is the question," the larger man said with a shrug. "I'm from here, and from there. Minnesota, Chicago, California; Tibet, Cambodia, Nigeria. Served a few years in 'Nam. Four Corners is the latest stop in my journey."

"You lookin for something?" he asked shifting his eyes from the scenery curiously.

Josiah gave him a contemplating look. "Who isn't? 'I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.' John 14:17.'"

Vin raised an eyebrow, "You travel to… spread the word of God?"

Josiah smiled again, a secret smile that irked Vin because it told him that the man knew something that he didn't. "Not exactly."

The spiritual man left it at that. Vin frowned in confusion, and Nathan reached up and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, you'll learn to speak Josiah soon enough. He quotes the scripture a lot when he's trying to make a point. Hardly anyone can understand him; sometimes I think he just makes it up on the spot"

"Right," Vin said still uncertain, but shrugging it off.

Silence enveloped the car again, and Vin found himself grateful.

* * *

On the way back from the crime scene, Buck had read over the information to Chris. The file was excessively thorough, it outlined the life of Benjamin Jones in an almost disturbing amount of detail. They knew where he went to get groceries, where he went for lunch, and his favorite color. The information was there, there were detailed photographs of the crime scene as well as read-outs of tests that had been done on materials found at the scene.

They learned that the tongue had been cut with a dull object. The MEA had deduced that it was simply a letter opener. The information also told them that there was evidence of a higher than normal level of static electricity in the air; what that meant, neither of them had a clue, but it had been highlighted in the file. Also attached was a history on the location, from the day the first house was built, when four corners was merely a one road town, to the present when it had become a multi-level office space with a series of different businesses on each floor.

With nowhere to go, Chris decided that the best place for them to gather was in Travis' office again, much to the older man's dismay. The office was small to begin with, adding five other men was not on his list of pleasant experiences. Upon the arrival of the Vin, Josiah and Nathan the two groups had exchanged information. When Chris learned of the other murders he became furious.

"I knew it!" Chris growled, slamming a hand on Orrin's desk, causing the older man to scowl at him. "I knew that sonofabitch wasn't telling us everything! There _is_ something going on in that building and it's a lot more complicated than he let on."

Chris was seething and everyone else was warily remaining several feet from the man.

Buck looked uneasily at Travis from his spot on the chair in the far corner. "Why does the MEA care so much about this case? I can't claim to understand what's going on here, and what the MEA does, but if they thought this was so important why would they want to share information with us at all? I mean, Standish may not have shared all of the information he had, but he didn't give us any false information."

Travis shrugged.

"In my personal opinion, its not the case they care about. In fact, they could care less about what the idiots dumb enough not to cover their tracks do. They could clean that up in their sleep. They just don't like sharing. It's a territorial thing. I'm begging you not to start a pissing contest with the MEA. They will crush you, and along with you, they'll crush anyone with ties to you. Like me. Just hang back, do your job, but don't get in their way. As for why they're sharing information, I really don't have a clue. Maybe Standish has an ulterior motive, or maybe he does things differently than most. My suggestion? Utilize his experience. I hired you to put a stop to illegal and dangerous activities, Paranormal and otherwise, while keeping the people of this community safe."

Chris flexed his neck to the side bringing a hand up to massage his temple.

"Are you telling me to work with him _and_ solve this case? I don't know if the two are synonymous. He'll probably keep giving us the run around. How can I trust him?"

"Larabee, I know you don't like it, but working with Standish will improve your chances of solving this case. And just think about it. What would have happened if the press got a hold of this story? 'Man in office building torn in half, loses tongue'? How would you explain that one? We don't even know who did it. There would be panic and media frenzy; it would cause more problems. And more problems are the last thing that we need right now."

"He probably is a bit more experienced than us when it comes to this type of thing…" Buck began giving Chris a 'lets be reasonable' look.

"No! NO way, come on Buck. You know we can't…"

"Can't what, brother? Give a man a second chance?"

Chris tossed the larger man a glower, and Josiah seemed pleasantly unaffected.

Orrin was starting to re-evaluate his opinion on this team; mostly because they were giving him a headache. Deciding to leave them to it, he stood up while flipping through the files on his desk, looking for the right ones.

"Alright gentlemen, I have some business to attend to that is already overdue. Take this little meeting elsewhere and the next time you contact me, please do so with results."

As the office door closed behind the ADA there was a silence amongst the men before Josiah spoke again.

"Anybody up for lunch?" he asked with a goofy smile as he patted his stomach.

Nathan reached over and smacked him, "Always thinking of your stomach."

"Actually," Vin said speaking up for the first time, "I could do with some lunch too. I know just the place."

"Did someone say lunch?" a cheerful voice asked from the doorway, causing them all to jump about a foot in the air and look to the doorway to see the youthful figure of JD Dunne standing in the doorway none of them had noticed reopen.

* * *

The stoic man stood before the solid limestone desk calmly waiting for the creature behind it to speak. Alonz Cordona was a nasty person, or Troll technically. Ezra imagined that if you didn't know anything more than the Human fairytales you might never associate the Troll with the creature that sat before him. He was a large creature, that was true, but instead of being 100 ft. tall with puke green skin and the IQ of a rock, he was probably around 8 ft tall with leathery gray skin and he most definitely did not have a low IQ. Trolls were actually very clever and intelligent beings. Ezra was certain that was the reason that Cordona had risen so far on the ladder of success so quickly. He was intelligent and brutal, two characteristics that won him the game every time. The troll was Ezra's supervisor in the department of Enforcement; he was what people referred to as an Enforcer. Unlike the cleaners, Ezra's job was probably the messiest. He had to bring back those Paranormal who broke the laws set by the leaders of the Communities.

There were times when he wondered if all of the work he'd done for the agency had been handled correctly. He'd been contracted into the agency at the tender age of 18 when he'd graduated from the prestigious boarding school his mother had sent him to. His magic was strong stuff, or so he'd been told. His mother had always frowned on his "talents" as she called them. She didn't like to talk about them, much less allow him to use them unless it was for her benefit. Of course that meant little when she wasn't around to observe his behaviors. Ezra hadn't been the only Paranormal student at the school, and he'd found comfort in the company of a group of older witches who had begun teaching him the craft. He'd learned from them as well as any book or resource he could get his hands on.

He'd been put through a training academy of sorts where he was introduced to the Paranormal world as a whole. It had been like nothing he'd ever known; never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that there were actually whole communities of people like him and so very different from him that lived away from Regulars. He'd spent several years after his training living within the different realms of the Community when not on the job. It was enlightening and exhilarating and purely magical. It made him feel alive and it gave him a sense of purpose. Being here, in the human world made him uncomfortable for reasons he couldn't identify. Perhaps it had simply been to long since he'd been exposed to humanity for any long periods of time. Most of his operations were within the magic realms, but this assignment had come from the top and who was Ezra to refuse his superiors?

How the assignment had gotten as out of hand that he'd ended up here in Cordona's office he couldn't exactly say. He wasn't afraid, really. Standish men weren't afraid of anything. Well, that's what his mother liked to tell him. But Ezra had stood to the side while he'd watched Cordona disembowel another Enforcer who'd messed up and throw him out with the trash. Literally. So in fact when Ezra told himself he wasn't scared, he had to admit he was probably lying just a little bit.

"Standish," the Troll said, voice surprisingly light for a being known for his anger issues, "do you know why I've called you here?"

Ezra shifted uncomfortably, legs planted firmly apart and hands behind his back, and shook his head.

"Not really sir," he answered carefully.

He steepled his hands on the desk and looked Ezra directly in the eyes, causing Ezra to mentally shudder. The eyes were completely Brown, no sign of a pupil anywhere and across his brow (there was only one) there was a deep scar that made him look even more dangerous. There was no expression there, only an empty nothingness that Ezra couldn't stand, it was one thing to see emotions of hate and anger cross a persons face, but when there was nothing there it made it more difficult to see which direction a conversation was about to go.

"You're working on the Heeley assignment, correct?"

Ezra repressed the urge to roll his eyes, they both knew that yes, he was working on that particular assignment.

"Yes, sir."

There was a noise of agreement, and he watched the sharp teeth appear as the man opened his mouth to talk.

"Up until the last few days I would have agreed with the assessment of excellence I have been passing on to the higher ups. You've been handling this case for three weeks, Standish, and you have managed to bag a highly dangerous wanted criminal at the same time, yet you've made no breaks with this particular case that you were assigned to. Care to explain to me," his voice was becoming deeper and angry, "why this is? My ass is on the line if you don't identify and stop this idiot lawbreaker."

Clenching his teeth in agitation, Ezra spoke coolly, "Sir, I have been following leads non-stop since I was assigned to the case. There is no evidence to suggest who or what is behind this attack yet. No signs of paranormal activity except the deaths themselves. I'm doing my best."

A wrinkled hand slammed down on the desk, "Not good enough! I need results, and the bosses are on me about when you're going to crack this. Don't make me regret assigning it to you! If I don't see results soon, I'll bring in Joe and turn him loose."

Ezra cringed. Eli Joe, what a tool. A headhunter who sold his expertise to the agency for particularly tough cases that even the best agents couldn't solve. Ezra was beginning to think that Cordona knew something Ezra didn't, by the direction these questions were going.

"You don't need to call in Joe," he quickly assured. "I've got a theory that I need to test, and I think it may just be the break we need. I've got it under control. Give me two days."

Ezra was totally lying about the theory.

Cordona's eyes were looking at him, and if Ezra could see emotion in them he would have realized that what the troll was feeling was disdain and disapproval. He'd never like Ezra Standish from the first day he'd been assigned to Enforcement. He'd always excelled faster than any of the other new recruits and put many of Cordona's own team to shame time and again before he'd been promoted. Cordona hated Ezra's guts and would give anything to see him out of the way for good. The only thing stopping him from flattening the witch was the invisible force that somehow kept him in high regard and good graces with those above Cordona himself.

Of course Ezra couldn't see any of this, because Trolls didn't have the capability to show anything with their eyes. So he went blissfully unaware of the plotting that went on inside his supervisor's head.

"You have 24 hours to show me results Standish, and then we'll see."

Nodding he stood still, uncertain if he was dismissed yet.

"Well what are you doing standing there Standish? What the hell are you waiting for? Clock is ticking!"

No need to be told twice. As he exited the office, he didn't dare look back not wanting to think about what Cordona would do to him if he didn't catch this killer. It was starting to look like perhaps he'd need a little help afterall.


End file.
